美國保安一生清貧 死後捐款600萬刀

A Vermont man who during his lifetime foraged for wood and held down jobs as a janitor and at a filling station, has left his local hospital and library $6million (£3.95 million).
美國佛蒙特州一位老人的一生非常普通，曾在加油站工作過，後來又在商場做看門人，可他去世後遺產竟達到600萬美元，而且還把這些錢全部捐給了當地的醫院和圖書館。

The bequest from Ronald Read, who died last June, aged 92 has stunned residents of Brattleboro, Vermont.
這位老人名叫羅納德·裏德，他於去年6月份去世，享年92歲，他的這份鉅額遺產讓佛蒙特州布拉特爾伯勒市的居民們震驚不已。

Little did they know that the man whose clothes were held together by safety pins was a remarkably adroit stock market investor.
大家只知道他是個着裝普通、生活節儉的人，卻不知道他其實是個股票投資高手。

Rather than a sharp suit he usually sported the traditional New England attire of a flannel shirt and baseball cap.
羅納德不像其他的投資人一樣經常西裝革履，他平時總是身穿格子襯衫、頭戴棒球帽。

He drove an old Toyota Yaris which he would leave away from the centre of town rather than pay to park.
他開着一輛老式豐田雅力士，爲了省下停車費還總是將車停在離市中心很遠的地方。

Mr Read’s frugality was legendary. One woman knitted him a hat to help him get through the ferocious New England winters.
羅納德的節儉是出了名的。曾有一位女士給他織了頂帽子才幫他度過了新英格蘭的嚴冬。

She even bought some old fence wiring from him, because she thought he could do with the money.
這位女士甚至還向他買過一些舊的圍欄線，因爲她覺得他需要錢。

But life had always been tough for Mr Read, who was a widower after his wife died in 1970.
事實上，羅納德生活確實一直比較艱難，他的妻子於1970年過世。

As a child he walked four miles each way to school and then after his military service in North Africa, Italy and the Pacific, he worked at a filling station for 25 years and then spent another 17 as a janitor at a branch of J.C Penney, a department store.
小的時候，羅納德每次都要步行四英里才能到學校，之後他曾在北非、意大利、太平洋等地區服兵役，他曾在一家加油站工作了25年，之後在一家商場裏做了17年的看門人。

The only hint that there might have been a bit more to Mr Read than met the eye was that his chosen newspaper was the Wall Street Journal.
唯一能夠讓人會覺得他和股票投資有關係的地方就是他常看《華爾街日報》。

According to Laurie Rowell, the lawyer administering his estate, his fortune grew steadily thanks to his shrewd stock market strategy.
據羅納德的遺產管理律師勞裏·羅厄爾說，羅納德生前所做的投資大幅升值，所以他的資產不斷上升。

"He had two lifelong hobbies: investing and cutting wood," she added.
勞裏說：“他一生最大的愛好有兩個：投資和砍柴。”

Philip Brown, Mr Read’s stepson, knew nothing of his wealth.
羅納德的繼子菲利普·布朗對於羅納德的鉅額財富完全不知情。

“I was tremendously surprised,'’ he said. “He was a hard worker, but I don't think anybody had an idea that he was a multi-millionaire.’’
“我非常驚訝。”他說，“他工作很努力，但我想估計沒人會想到他其實是個百萬富翁。”

The bequests of $4.8 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and $1.2 million to the town’s library are the largest both institutions have ever had.
在羅納德600萬美元的遺產中，他將480萬美元捐給了伯瑞特波羅紀念醫院，另外120萬美元捐給了當地的圖書館。這兩筆捐款是兩家機構迄今爲止收到過的數額最大的捐款。